The London-based fashionista hooked up with Mr Thiry after meeting him on the Caribbean Island of St Bartholemy.

Mr Thiry was worth £8million when they got together, the court was told. His wife, who worked as a creative director at French Connection, was already wealthy – not least as a result of her first divorce.

Mr Justice Newton said that a company Mrs Thiry owned made a £13.8million loan to her husband that had never been paid off.

Mr Thiry, who runs a boutique hotel in Belgium, had failed to comply with a court order to disclose information about the loan, his wife’s barrister Harry Oliver told the court.

He said: ‘This type of behaviour cannot be tolerated. It must be understood by this husband, and by all husbands, that when considerable time, money and effort have been expended, it is simply unacceptable for the court to be treated in this way.’

The judge added that Mr Thiry is currently in Belgium but that he will be arrested the next time he sets foot on British soil. He also ordered the husband to pay a £10,000 legal costs bill.